More Articles

The Dispatch E-Edition

All current subscribers have full access to Digital D, which includes the E-Edition and
unlimited premium content on Dispatch.com, BuckeyeXtra.com, BlueJacketsXtra.com and
DispatchPolitics.com.
Subscribe
today!

Coffee and food purveyor Cup o'Joe/MoJoe Lounge and Huntington National Bank have agreed to
lease about half of the 14,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space along High Street in the
Lazarus building.

Both are expected to open in the spring, around the time the new Columbus Commons park
officially opens across the street, on the site of the former Columbus City Center mall.

The new tenants will join about 2,000 office employees in the building. It was renovated by the
Columbus Downtown Development Corp./Capitol South with the aid of city-backed bonds. The
organization is also behind the development of Columbus Commons and the River South redevelopment
plan that stretches west from the Lazarus Building on High Street to the Scioto River.

"Three years ago, the Lazarus building was an abandoned building," said Guy Worley, CEO of
CDDC/Capitol South. "Adding retail was one of the last things we needed to do. . . . This will be
excellent for the neighborhood as a whole."

Jim Kunk, central regional president for Huntington, said the bank's decision to open a branch
office less than two blocks from its headquarters reflects its commitment to Downtown and its
confidence in the emerging River South neighborhood.

"That's a new, developing district down there. There's the new park. There's new residential
(apartments) and a couple thousand workers in the building," Kunk said.

Mark Swanson, president of the Cup o'Joe restaurants, also said his company's commitment to
Downtown was a factor in its decision to open in the Lazarus building.

He said initial plans call for 6:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. operations. But the company will seek a
liquor license and could add evening hours based on demand, even if it's on a limited
Wednesday-through-Saturday basis.

"Our company's local. We live in Columbus, and we've always wanted a Downtown location," Swanson
said. Cup o'Joe currently has High Street locations in the Short North and Clintonville
neighborhoods, as well as stores in German Village and several other neighborhoods near
Downtown.